Ruiz Disappoints!

If the game, yesterday, was a disappointment, then the Fulham debut of Bryan Ruiz was something of an anti-climax.

Having cost in excess of £10 million, great things were expected of the Costa Rican. Sadly, despite a few early touches, our recent signing from FC Twente, struggled.

Instead of being a revelation, Ruiz struggled to get involved and appeared to be too easily knocked off the ball.

After the game, Martin Jol was quick to acknowledge that it hadn`t been the best of debuts simply remarking,

"The pace was too quick for him"

Perhaps it may have been a better idea to let Ruiz watch from the bench and give him a twenty minute run out, rather than the cold, sharp shock treatment that might have well had Ruiz questioning just what he`s let himself in for?

We seem to have no defined setup, at present. Duff appears to be the only once comfortable playing as a true winger, but with him deployed on the right, his crosses are lacking. If we're going to play down the wing, let Duff operate on the left side. As for Ruiz, it's clear he's more comfortable operating in space and having to retreat so deep to pick up the ball, he was not ready to deal with the pressure of a fullback and midfielder collapsing on him every time. First match, though. He'll need some time.

We seem to have no defined setup, at present. Duff appears to be the only once comfortable playing as a true winger, but with him deployed on the right, his crosses are lacking. If we're going to play down the wing, let Duff operate on the left side. As for Ruiz, it's clear he's more comfortable operating in space and having to retreat so deep to pick up the ball, he was not ready to deal with the pressure of a fullback and midfielder collapsing on him every time. First match, though. He'll need some time.

I was surprised he started. Very rarely does a player do well on a full debut. I think I read that he only started training with the lads on Wednesday. A mistake by Jol that one. Teddy is spot on about there being no clear setup. Too many times yesterday did you look and see that players were in very strange positions. At one point Riise had to clear the ball at RB. Blackburn identified to threat of Duff cutting in on his left foot, forcing him to cross with his weaker right. He was our best player in the first half, constantly beating his marker. Zamora coped well despite some very tight marking and Dembele changed the game. When he came on, he and Dempsey combined well. However, one clear observation. We did not test the goalkeeper enough. No clear cut chances were made and too many times Murphy made a mistake and took his eye off the ball. However, promising signs in regards to keeping possession. We.re going to need everything we have against Man City next week.

I was surprised he started. Very rarely does a player do well on a full debut. I think I read that he only started training with the lads on Wednesday. A mistake by Jol that one. Teddy is spot on about there being no clear setup. Too many times yesterday did you look and see that players were in very strange positions. At one point Riise had to clear the ball at RB. Blackburn identified to threat of Duff cutting in on his left foot, forcing him to cross with his weaker right. He was our best player in the first half, constantly beating his marker. Zamora coped well despite some very tight marking and Dembele changed the game. When he came on, he and Dempsey combined well. However, one clear observation. We did not test the goalkeeper enough. No clear cut chances were made and too many times Murphy made a mistake and took his eye off the ball. However, promising signs in regards to keeping possession. We.re going to need everything we have against Man City next week.

ruiz looked a half step slow, and i'm losing patience with murphy... i can't remember that last game that he took control of... he's looks slow and easily set off... not the behavior of a captain... dempsey and dembele played well together for sure... can someone tell me why we cannot play a decent ball from a set piece? free kicks are tough for sure, but there might have been one decent corner turned in from the many we were given... it's a waste of opportunity...

ruiz looked a half step slow, and i'm losing patience with murphy... i can't remember that last game that he took control of... he's looks slow and easily set off... not the behavior of a captain... dempsey and dembele played well together for sure... can someone tell me why we cannot play a decent ball from a set piece? free kicks are tough for sure, but there might have been one decent corner turned in from the many we were given... it's a waste of opportunity...

Murphy seems incredible impatient and short tempered lately. I know he has always had his moments, but this season, like Woody said, it seems to be every game. Maybe there are still some unresolved issues between him and Jol. Maybe they don;t see eye-to-eye on tactics. And I have no idea why our set pieces have now gone to pot. I heard a statistic that we sent in 45 crosses and corners and only 4 meet a Fulham player. Something wrong there.

Murphy seems incredible impatient and short tempered lately. I know he has always had his moments, but this season, like Woody said, it seems to be every game. Maybe there are still some unresolved issues between him and Jol. Maybe they don;t see eye-to-eye on tactics. And I have no idea why our set pieces have now gone to pot. I heard a statistic that we sent in 45 crosses and corners and only 4 meet a Fulham player. Something wrong there.